Relative Free Falling
by ShamelessDilettante
Summary: Reborn finds himself falling for a lone cafe owner, Tsuna. He's is a little odd, and definitely more than a handful, but sometimes he gets a look in his eye that seems like he lives far beyond even Reborn's reach. (At only 19 years of age, Tsunayoshi Sawada dies. When he wakes again, it's in a time long before he's born.) R27, time-travel, full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

Reborn, young aspiring hitman that he is, finds himself falling for the lone cafe owner of a tiny place down the marketplace in his suburb.

Tsuna is a little odd, and definitely more than a handful, but sometimes he gets a look in his eye that seems like he's lives far beyond even Reborn's reach.

(At only 19 years of age, Tsunayoshi Sawada, Neo Vongola Primo or Vongola Decimo, dies young.

Still at 19 years of age, he wakes to find himself long before he's even born and no way back.

With nothing else he can do, he makes the most of it.

He just wasn't expecting to fall in love with the young version of his former? future? tutor.)

 **A/N:** _What happens when you don't want to write your thesis and have an overactive muse._

 _And because writing time travel is so very fun._

 _First chapter is in Reborn's POV. I just dived straight into writing with no clear goal in mind so this is a little rushed and messy. sorry._

Un-beta-d _(I normally edit my own work, but I haven't as much on this one due to time constraints.). I would greatly appreciate it if you could point out any mistakes, even just minor spelling ones._

 **Disclaimer:** _I do not own KHR._

* * *

Love is, like stumbling unarmed through one of Colonnello's courses, blindfolded, and with both hands tied behind his back -perhaps not the best comparison given that Reborn has done just that, successfully.

Tsuna was, _is_ , Reborn's favourite barista. He still owns that tiny 2 by 4 metre space that somehow fits a full-sized industrial esspresso machine, and all the accessories that come with creating artisan coffee, an oven and the ingredients for those small divine treats Reborn is still puzzling over -they are just that _good_. At least he's not using what little floor space there is for his bedroll, given that he's moved into Reborn's apartment.

If Reborn had considered, before meeting Tsuna, that he would be sharing space with someone for an extended period of time and _willing_ to do it, he would have kicked that metaphorical thought out the window and into the river that ran past his apartment.

He's a hitman, drenched in the blood of his targets and too far gone in the world of the Cosa Nostra to even consider pulling out.

And then he meets Tsuna, a little clumsy, Japanese with a hint of something that gives him brunet instead of black hair and his eyes a bright orange sheen when the light hits them _just_ right. Reborn's first impression is based on the tantalising scent of freshly ground beans -his, admittedly, only weakness- Leon laying, belly full of apricot strudel, inside the collar of the barista with the charming smile who manages to coax the hitman into testing all his food and proceeds to ruin all other baked goods for Reborn and his companion for life.

Reborn is proud to know that he's Tsuna's first customer, in fact he'd really just been tempted by the scent of freshly brewing coffee that bought him to the little niche just off the main market, surrounded by vegetation hanging off baskets and a tall lemon tree that leans from the neighbours yard and provides midday shade to Tsuna's little corner. Tsuna wasn't even open at the time, busy as he was testing recipes. Reborn invited himself inside regardless.

Reborn is not ashamed to admit he uses Tsuna's creations as bribes. He has three custom firearms on the way from Verde, four favours from Fon, Skull's silence for a week, information from Lal, a year's free pass to the luxury resort on the newly built Mafia Land, and an I.O.U. from _Viper_ of all people. (It is generally accepted that it will take a miracle and the world ending for Viper to part with their money, it is therefore completely reasonable for Reborn to consider his boyfriend's cooking magic.)

And despite his civilian status, Reborn has seen countless incidents involving prominent mafioso or people of his ilk at Tsuna's little cafe having heart to hearts with the young man.

Once, it was an assassin Reborn had worked with once, Leo -a sturdy man, good work ethic, if an even worse womaniser than Reborn- he got smacked in the face with an oven mitt for a few misplaced words, he came back every couple of days and soon enough he was telling tales of his assassinations to a patiently listening brunet while being stuffed with food.

The second was the boy who taken one bite of Tsuna's muffins and basically fell under the brunet's spell, this would have been standard if Reborn hadn't been sure the boy was the current heir to the rather erroneous Estraneo famiglia. Whether Tsuna knew of that famiglia's reputation or not was questionable, but several of the chats Reborn listened in on told him that perhaps the future Estraneo wouldn't be as bad, Tsuna was incredibly gifted at turning people away from such tempting paths.

The most memorable was perhaps Timoteo of the Vongola, the most influential organisation in the world. Tsuna didn't have much in the way of seating despite the number of people that enjoyed a chat or two with the barista. There were only two fold up tables, and six chairs (two often kept inside and only used when needed) that sat just outside facing the pathway. The man just came in one day, ordered a cappucino and took a seat, watching people pass until Tsuna was free for a moment where he struck up a quiet conversation. Reborn caught none of what was exchanged given he came just as the other was leaving -he was so _very_ tempted to shake Tsuna, did the brunet just not notice how much trouble he could get into?

Reborn took to eyeing the man suspiciously the next couple of times he came by. Timoteo often asked Tsuna hypothetical questions such as, "what would you do, if you suspect your business partner has been embellising reports and participating in shady deals but you've also been together for many many years?" and Tsuna would often bustle about his oven, thinking it over before answering carefully, "find evidence, if it's true and what they're doing is _illegal,_ make sure you know who exactly is involved because a business is normally a conglomerate of people and sometimes it's really just a minority that's pulling the strings, and sometimes you can't trust the authorities to be as thorough and not convict the wrong people." When the next day, news of the Pesco famiglia, who also had an alliance with the Vongola for the last two generations, arrest of the boss' right and left hands by the Vindice, Reborn became convinced that the Vongola don was taking _cues_ from a civilian barista. That sort of influence, often sought after and cultivated in the mafia, is down right ridiculous in the hands of a civilian in Reborn's opinion, _but it just continued to happen_. ( The don now takes to bringing his kids with him, and they're all particularly partial to the brunet. Reborn suspects ten year old Enrico has a crush on his partner, if the blushing and handmade clay gifts are anything to go by.)

Reborn is a sceptic, through and through, and although he's stumbled across the whole Flames thing a number of times during his involvement with the mafia, he's never took much stock of it. (He can augment his bullets with yellow flames that pierce reinforced walls like a hot knife through butter, he can regenerate torn tissue far faster than the average person- but beyond making his job easier Reborn sees the ability as nothing more than another tool.) Or at least it was until he was until halfway through the fifth date with the brunet and he realises there's a _reason_ they've somehow stumbled into a shootout between two feuding famiglia again (the first time was during their disastrous first official date) along with the waitress who'd chased after them with Tsuna's forgotten wallet. Somehow or another the whole thing is resolved with a lot less bullets and blood running down the streets and a lot more embarrassment on the two boss' part as Tsuna scolds them for fighting over a woman, who just happens to be the waitress.

Tsuna is an all encompassing, ridiculously powerful Sky apparently. (It is a very good thing that Flame knowledge isn't that common, otherwise Reborn would have kidnapped his charming partner and disappeared completely, reputation be damned.)

Tsuna is also just a tad odd.

Appearance is all well and good but what catches Reborn's attention in the first place is the flash of nostalgia and pain in those vibrant eyes before they're hidden behind soft bangs and a smile. Sometimes Tsuna seems like he's not looking at anything and his gaze seems so very far until Reborn presses a kiss against his nose, and then his lips, and it dissolves into giggles and chuckles, and almost innocent pashing.

Then he meets Luce, a shaman apparently, and she gets those looks too when she's gazing into the future.

Reborn wonders.

They're all but married, and been together for three years when Reborn takes on his first long term job. (As in, far longer than a month of reconnaissance.) It's offered by a highly suspicious individual who broke into their apartment when Tsuna had long since gone to bed and Reborn's just returning from a mission. A few words are exchanged and Reborn _does not_ like the way that silver mask is turned to brunet in their bed the entire time, nor the way he seems to hesitate just before leaving as if contemplating something. It's not jealousy, they're too far along their relationship and trust each other implicitly for Reborn to feel anything beyond mild irritation and sometimes amusement when Tsuna pushes suitors away. No, the man is dangerous in a way that makes his hackles rise and his hair to stand on end. Nor does he like the way Tsuna, who has apparently been feigning sleep the entire time, turns to him, face uncharacteristically blank as a slate and asks him if he's taking the job.

Reborn ponders it for a few days, but the day of the meeting brings his feet to the door and he meets six other rather prominent individuals. (Colonnello comes a few weeks later, barging into one of their missions and offering assistance no one wanted and just, never really left despite Lal's best efforts to keep him out.)

The seven of them make a name for themselves, and each of them get their own titles, amusingly enough. Number one sniper, number one stuntman, number one martial artist, esper, shaman/Gigleo Nero boss, the second coming of Da Vinci, and number one hitman (if there was a title for espionage then Lal would probably be smacked with it, except there isn't, given that it's all about subtlety and redirection).

They become friends. (Or their definition of it anyway, Reborn calls them acquaintances, coworkers, but four years of working together in sometimes life-threatening situations makes it a little hard to keep such a distance, not that it matters, the only one Reborn talks to about his personal life is Tsuna, and Tsuna understands.)

The first time Reborn brings in batch of various fruit tartlets is partly because their last mission had almost been a bust and some gratitude is required when a man such as Skull doesn't run away screaming at the sight of guts spilling out of Reborn's abdomen and stays there holding him together while Reborn works his Flames to overdrive and Verde is disinfecting the wound, and Reborn breaks Fon's hand due to the subsequent pain induced spasm. It's also mostly because Tsuna had shoved the stack of boxes into his arms with that determined gleam in his eye that is particularly appealing and if Reborn were any more perverted he would have- _ahem,_ anyway, the demand that he give food if not thanks is made and you do not refuse a sincere request from someone like Tsuna without suffering dire consequences. (Reborn willingly admits coffee withdrawal turns him into a particularly pathetic cranky shit, but Tsuna was forced to lift the ban two days early and that's all Reborn cared about at that point.)

At least he is highly entertained by the flabbergasted incredulous expressions right after moans of absolute bliss and _oh my god this is fucking delicious_ that is induced when Reborn casually inserts that his partner made them. (Lover sounds too casual for what they are, they're not legally spouses _yet,_ and they've crossed boyfriend years ago, so, partner.) Except Luce since Luce knows everything before anything occurs.

"Y-you have a partner?!" Colonnello exclaims around mouthfuls of blueberry tart.

"You should introduce them to us," says Fon after swallowing his pineapple treat.

"I want to see this," Viper demands and Reborn's certain there used to be an entire box of strawberry tarts but they've somehow miraculously disappeared.

Reborn hums for a minute, just to build up the tension, and take amusement at the manic gleams that appear as several of the others eye the remaining kiwi-strawberry-raspberry-apricot tartlet, before shrugging. "Maybe." He says cryptically and grabs the last treat before anyone else can and watches as they deflate or groan in disappointment.

Tsuna is a civillian, but a few years spent in close proximity to the brunet has Reborn drawing the conclusion that Tsuna is only a civillian due to sheer dumb luck and the fact that most of the mafioso that he inevitably tangles with are either the nicer ones or become the nicer ones due to frequent exposure to his food (or Tsuna himself). An example would be Estraneo's bratty heir who is now an even brattier teenager but he's certainly looking to turn out far more sane and morally grounded than his father or the rest of that insane (immoral) family. As such another week, many _subtle_ hints pertaining to scrumptious treats, his partner, food, recipes, _what I would not give for another of those tarts_ and another mission later and Reborn charges them through the roof in exchange for inviting Tsuna and subsequently, more treats, along to a meeting.

They last an admirable week and apparently Colonnello's having withdrawal symptoms even though he's only had Tsuna's treats o _nce,_ and Skull has taken to mumbling _ra_ _spberry tarrrts_ during his naps and even Luce has been making doe eyes in his direction, that the rest of them cave and Reborn smugly takes all the IOUs and takes Tsuna along with him the next day.

Tsuna comes prepared, but even he's a little suprised as the tower of boxes vanishes as he steps over the threshold.

Reborn is less amused when Colonnello clasps his partner's hands, the remining crumbs of a key lime pie scattered across his cheeks as he exclaims, "marry me~!"

Reborn quickly recovers however, when Tsuna's response is to tilt his head, and say, "if you don't mind being married to Reborn also." Colonnello freezes, and Tsuna continues, expression set to serious. "I am an equal opportunist. Sharing will be paramount if you wish to be in a polyamorou-"

Colonnello actually _shrieks_ as he backs away, blue eyes shunting between Reborn who is smirking, and Tsuna whose lips are twitching. "Oh my Lal, there are _two_ of you?!"

And Tsuna laughs.

Despite first impressions, Tsuna is _not_ like Reborn. He is far nicer than the hitman ( _Reborn is nice too! He just shows it in a different manner._ Says Tsuna to a very sceptic Skull) and that is evident in the way he's drifted around and gotten to get everyone to share a little bit about themselves. (It isn't until at least a month before any of them shared even their real names with each other, initially.) Reborn's vouch for him helps, of course, and they're all curious about the man that's apparently had the hitman's attention and for _four_ years and survived it.

Tsuna bears the probing, not so probing, and down right blunt queries admirably and has some sort of mental showdown with Luce where the two stared at each other for a full minute before beaming in that way that Reborn's starting to consider a Sky trait or something.

Reborn brings Tsuna along with him more often (usually the evening meetings where Tsuna's closed shop for the day), and like with Colonnello everyone becomes used to the brunet's constant presence among them. Tsuna paves the way to turning tentative friendship into a full course interpersonal best-friends. It starts with an invite to dinner to their apartment -and by this time the rest of them have had semi-frequent exposure to Tsuna's cooking and they can _never go back_. Then he wheedles his way into Verde's lab somehow (that even Reborn hasn't stepped foot in and not for lack of trying), and coaxes Viper to manage the group's collective money instead of exclusively their own, and trades physical fitness tips with Lal.

Their group worked together admirably during missions, and Luce, as the designated Sky, leads them well, but she has other obligations to her own famiglia and, outside of missions, they don't really see eye to eye.

So what does Tsuna do when the brunet sees this? (And right away, Reborn might add, that intuition of the brunet's really is incredible).

Tsuna knits them together, finds ways for Skull to interact with Verde over transport machinery, gets Fon and Viper to spar more often so they can see that they have different values during a fight and coaxes them to accept those differences, he teaches Colonnello a few recipes when the blond man asks, and helps the blond plan a surprise date for Lal, he falls asleep against Reborn and wakes to find the hitman and Luce have banded together to braid and tie little ribbon bows into his unruly hair.

Reborn knows that Tsuna's intuition is so far beyond a normal person's it's like he has eyes everywhere at once, but sometimes he entertains the thought that Tsuna must have met some of them before, mayhap in a parallel world, to know them so well.

But it is just a thought, it isn't like parallel worlds existed, right?

They spend another three years as a group before they get the oddest mission. Tsuna doesn't really join them on missions like Colonnello does, even though half of them forget that he's a civillian, and the other half find the point moot when Tsuna can get himself tangled with an assassin, a mafia heir, and Bovino's newly concocted and therefore completely unreliable time machine _j_ _ust_ by doing the groceries.

(Tsuna got shrunk into a midget for the day. Reborn lost a battle of wills to said midget when chibi Tsuna demanded to ride on his head for some inexplicable reason. Reborn had to do the groceries with his miniturised partner on his head stroking Leon and periodically cackling like an evil mastermind while the Bovino assassin trailed them dejectedly (of course the weapon was confiscated) and Cavallone's teenage heir walked backwards in front of them, quizzing Tsuna's extensive equestrian knowledge (why in the world did Tsuna know so many ways to ride a horse?) and Verde somehow avoided the crowd without looking up from his examination of the weapon and Fon eyed the entire lot of them with tolerant amusement.)

But this time Tsuna volunteered to join. "A hidden treasure in the Ural Mountains sounds fun, I'll make plenty of nonperishable foods."

It isn't the first 'treasure hunt' type of request they've done, so they think nothing of it as they set out.

It's when they reach the cavern in one of the peaks that things go inexplicably to shit.

They enter the mouth after finding nothing wrong and suddenly they're frozen. Reborn can't move a muscle and it feels like his very life force is being drained. Fon's eyes are wide and its obvious they're the only thing he can move, just as Skull's eyes appear frantic but the constant bustling stuntman can't budge an _inch._

Even worse are the pitch dark portals and air so cold that even this high up in the mountain it condenses and streams across the stone floor like an ominous blanket. Reborn has never seen the Vindice this up close, only from afar when they're making an arrest, and there is a valid _reason_ the entirety of the mafia fear them.

Except Tsuna. _Goddamit._

(Reborn always thought, as a hitman, he was going to die with a bullet in his head and a shower of blood. Now he seriously thinks that his death will be due to the love of his life's lack of basic _common sense_.)

"Hi," Tsuna, who can somehow still move though it may have something to do with the flame flickering on his head and his now molten eyes, greets the tiny Vindice sitting on another Vindice's shoulder. The next words are fuzzy as Reborn starts losing focus and feeling inordinately like a funnel, as strength leaves him completely.

" **…started…need…Flames…source…"** the Vindice's deep grating voice bounces inside Reborn's head and a tiny part of him is screaming that something is _not right._

"I can… please…" Tsuna's voice raises Reborn's hackles despite his exhaustion and he wants to yell, to scream at his selfless partner to not do anything _stupid._

A silver mask flashes in his periphery, making for Tsuna in a blur of movement on par with Fon's fastest style. Reborn, despite exhaustion, despite the drain that's already collapsed Lal and even the frantic Colonnello who wasn't even supposed to be here _the_ _imbecile_ , Reborn forces himself to _move._

The hitman takes one step, an arm outreached for Tsuna even though he knows he won't make it, not when that masked creep is a _thousand_ times faster but he has to _try._ Reborn very life is being drained as red dyes his vision and his partner crashes into his limp arms, a jeweled sceptre sticking out of his abdomen like a particularly grotesque form of Excalibur Sword.

Someone, probably him, is screaming, and he vaguely realises he can move, but there's nothing left inside him _to move._

Bright orange flares across Reborn's vision, and he falls.

* * *

 **A/N:** Convoluted as it is, the timeframe goes like this;  
Reborn is 20 when he meets Tsuna, they spend 3 years together before Checkerface appears and offers Reborn the job. Another year passes before Reborn introduces Tsuna to the group (not Arcobaleno yet) and then another three years pass before the Fated Day occurs and that's where we end.

There should be one more chapter which I'll post whenever I get it written.

Thank you for reading. Now I will go back to work and hopefully _stop_ writing fanfiction as a form of procrastination.

Ja ne.

* * *

EDIT: Sorry to my followers if you got a message about a second chapter. I clicked the wrong button when I was updating this chapter while half asleep. There isn't a second chapter, not yet at least.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** : I'm simply amazed at the response I've been given for this fic. I'm always glad to see others enjoy my work. Hopefully this chapter will clear up any confusion anyone had from the last one. Also, hope it's up to standards!

* * *

Falling in love with Reborn is unexpected, unplanned, and yet occurs gradually with almost enviable ease.

This Reborn isn't as harsh, isn't as jaded, and even if the line between _his_ version and this one blur, Tsuna makes an effort to differentiate the two, if only because it would be unfair to the both of them.

 _His_ Reborn is his former tutor and even if he could have nurtured this sort of relationship with him, Tsuna thinks it'll end up as a disaster, because they'll end up so _close_ that it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins and there's such a thing as unhealthy co-dependency, or abusive because Reborn has been his better for years and the man is _possessive_ of what is his. (A few extra years as the Vongola head might have tempered such views but that is neither here nor there.)

 _This_ Reborn (also his Reborn, in a way) has no such obligations. Tsuna is just a cafe owner, and Reborn a charming customer. Their relationship is surprisingly mundane, compared to their actual lives.

And their dates.

Oh god, the dates. If it's not two feuding famiglia, it's a kidnapping incident. If it's not an assassination (not theirs but sometimes they just happen to choose the same movie a target is at, or the hill they're stargazing on just happens to be the assassins prime location) it's finding a body (Tsuna has done a stint at the Varia's for six months, his luck at stumbling over cadavers, intact or otherwise, has apparently rerouted itself to include dates with Reborn). If it's not the rollercoaster breaking while they're upside down, or the haunted house collapsing (Tsuna will tease Reborn forever for freaking out at jello trickling down his neck, Reborn will never let Tsuna live down the fact that he shrieked like a little girl when the pillow dropped from the ceiling and onto his head -Tsuna does not feel like explaining his very real fear of being suffocated by marshmallows, given that Byakuran isn't even alive yet.) it's the havoc created by a stampede of gazelles from the safari they attend.

In the end, Tsuna considers falling in love Reborn, moving in with the man, and basically becoming domestic partners in every sense of the word is completely natural.

It's just everything else that's out of their minds.

* * *

Tsuna dies young and painfully, with several bullets in his torso and life's blood draining from the gaping wounds far faster than a frantic Ryohei and abnormally stiff Reborn can close them.

He can't hear anything over the buzz ringing in his ears but he doesn't need sound to know that Reborn's calling him everything between _foolish_ to _you down right idiot Tsuna don't you dare die on me._

But it's far too late and even if Tsuna were to regret, he doesn't.

 _He never cared about the position, all he ever wanted was for everyone to be-_

Falling so that his loved ones can go on isn't the worst way to pass.

* * *

Waking up in an alley not far from where he should have died, sore and disoriented but with no wounds or even scars to speak of, isn't what he's expecting.

Nor is, after walking out and wondering why fashion seems to have regressed a few decades and snagging a tabloid from the teenager handing them out, finding out that it's _1973_ , years before he's even a _concept_.

Tsuna is not a stranger to time travel. Lambo is a little zealous with his bazooka just as the inventors cannot seem to resist the urge to modify it. Tsuna has been ten years in his future, he's also been four centuries in the past, creating parallel worlds every time he meets Giotto (or so the concept goes, to avoid time paradoxes he is told).

But there was no puff of pink smoke, and it's been far longer than 5 minutes and his intuition tells him that it's no use, there's no way back but forward at the snail's pace normal time proceeds.

Tsuna has no records, no relatives that he knows of, and his Vongola gear is gone. So, with only the clothes on his back, he embarks on his second lease of life.

* * *

Establishing a cafe with the meagre amount he's managed to procure over a year of part time jobs and drabbling in the stock market is something he does on a whim.

He's always enjoyed cooking if only to see his family smile-and the pang lingers even if he knows he'll see them again, if not in the same capacity given he's going to be _much_ older than a good number of them. The Vongola chefs were often exasperated, they also watched him like hawks whenever he took to baking as if trying to decode the most difficult codex. (They were attempting to decipher out just _how_ the aspiring Vongola Decimo could take down antagonistic rival famiglia with just a bite of his cassata that reduced even the Varia down to blissful moans and disturbing writhing.)

And Reborn is a coffee snob, and takes any chance to teach Tsuna anything and everything. So, a cafe just feels natural.

He's actually much more suited to a prominent position in a company, given the skills he's acquired during his comparably short but memorable reign over the presiding Famiglia of the mafia, but it's never been a position Tsuna has _wanted_. Establishing his own business, on his own terms, is more fulfilling than Tsuna expects and he's even a little thankful for this second opportunity if only for this freedom he would never have otherwise.

"That smells _divine_."

Startled, Tsuna fumbles with the tray holding his newest creation and turns to find Reborn, older than when Tsuna last saw him, but younger than that time with the Representative Battles. He almost demands, _where have you been?_ But there's no recognition in those familiar eyes, only a curiosity that isn't hidden as well as Tsuna is used to.

Quashing the urge to hug the hitman forever, and ignoring the sharp obsidian eyes that rove over his face, taking in every twitch and shift of expression, he plasters on a smile and proceeds to feed both Leon -who is, strangely enough, a very realistic chameleon in this time- and this Reborn the freshly baked apricot strudel.

Before he knows it, the sun is setting and he's not sure if it's madness or nostalgia that drives him to invite the hitman back the next day.

* * *

Reborn comes as he's opening, and again when he's closing. The hitman leaves Leon with him on the fifth day, in a rather surprising show of trust. On the seventh he offers to walk Tsuna home, and then proceeds to charm Tsuna to _his_ home when he discovers Tsuna sleeps, and showers in the tiny attached bathroom, in his tiny cafe. It's thirty days in, several shared meals, a hike, two rounds to the beaches, and one movie later that Tsuna wakes up in Reborn's bed one day and realises they've been dating for the _past_ _three weeks_.

He nudges the lump that is Reborn until the mess of hair lifts slightly and the tip of Reborn's sharp nose emerges with a muffled, indistinct, "it's _5am_ Tsuna."

Tsuna has long since stopped questioning things like how Reborn knows the time when he's spent the night as a cocoon.

He just looks into sleepy obsidian eyes, finds himself calmer than he's ever been despite the madness that is his life, and says, "I am okay with this."

(Tsuna can set himself on fire, he's had a stint as a _mafia boss_ , he currently lives and breathes in a time he shouldn't even exist in, and he's undeniably in love with a man that is his tutor's past self.

Calling his life a mess would be an understatement, but despite the bone-deep ache that comes when he thinks of the family he left behind, he feels rigorously content to live his life as it is now.)

Reborn just looks at him, huffs, and then somehow untangles himself enough to sequester Tsuna into his cocoon and makes a valiant effort to smother him back to sleep.

Tsuna muffles a laugh against Reborn's pyjamas and will probably get drool on them come morning.

He's happy.

* * *

It's surprisingly cute, the manner Reborn approaches him. He's always envisioned adult Reborn as a lady-killer, all suave and cocky smirks. This Reborn _is_ like that but he's also surprisingly attentive to Tsuna and doesn't initiate anything beyond a chaste kiss pressed against his knuckles, against his cheek, against his nose, and these gestures say so much more than a sharing of body fluid will. It leaves Tsuna flushed a giddy pink, even as he returns the gesture and nuzzles Leon for good measure.

Reborn is still a hitman, a killer for hire, who is clearly climbing the ranks to infamy.

It's when Reborn starts taking him to shooting ranges, teaching him to defend himself even though Tsuna can wipe the floor with mafioso if his intuition doesn't have him ready for attacks far before they come, that Tsuna _gets_ it.

Reborn is willing to be in a committed relationship -as in, a life-long vow type of relationship.

Tsuna finds himself wanting the same thing.

There is no proposal, no ring, but there may as well have been.

He smiles, positions himself with Reborn's hands carefully adjusting his own, and fires.

* * *

Mafioso, assassins and the odd government agent appearing at his cafe on a semi-frequent basis is less of a shock than it ought to be. At least it's a gradual development rather than something that he lands in arse backwards like all those situations of his younger days.

The younger Timoteo with a full head of dark blonde hair does give him a certain amount of shock, as is discovering that Shamal very much takes after his father, right down to the constant flirting. It's also strange, meeting a child who could pass off as Mukuro's cousin (or possibly, uncle?) if only his hair were a few shades bluer, and chin a little sharper.

But it makes _sense_.

Talbot who looks to have not changed a single day when Tsuna finally gets in contact with him, and the imposing pair Jaeger and Bermuda make are more of a shock than meeting his friends' relatives in child forms.

(It takes a bit of convoluted planning and disguise to meet Talbot, who resides in one of the most highly guarded and luxurious branches of Vongola. The Vindice are easier as every famiglia has ways to contact the mafia police if needed, and they're certainly more active than the ancient metal smith.)

(Bermuda has banned his wardens from making unsanctioned arrests, if only to stave off the headache if ever there is another individual like Tsuna. The brunet escapes from his holding cell to accost the chibi-Vindice in his bathroom ( _unintentionally_ , Tsuna insists) and proceeds to spin a convoluted tale that switches tense far too often while dodging chains with enviable ease. The whole thing is resolved, eventually, but not before Bermuda's personal rooms are decimated and he demands compensation in the form of weekly treats.)

Meeting the (future?) Arcobaleno has its own entertainment value, even if Kawahira or Checkerface, or whichever-name-he's-going-by's scrutiny when he comes to recruit Reborn is a little unnerving ( _it's too early_ , his intuition whispers, _he'll kill you if you interfere_ ).

Tsuna never knew the (not quite, and hopefully never if he has anything to say about it) Arcobaleno were this disjointed originally, but now he understands why Verde is so antagonistic, and Lal harsh, and Fon barely visits prior to being cured on his past-future. So he makes an effort to bring them closer, makes them food and tries to find things that allow at least two of the group to bond.

He's never met Luce but she's just like Uni (or should it be the other way around?), if a little more expressive and excitable. He suspects Luce knows what he's planning, or has some vague idea, but aside from some looks she never mentions anything.

When Luce is six months pregnant, Tsuna knows the clock is ticking down. (It's inferred, but he's heard that Luce originally was chibi-fied like the rest of the Arcobaleno so Aria is either a product that comes after she works out she can stay her normal age or from before the curse is implemented. Given that Luce is pregnant _now_ , the answer is obvious.)

Aria turns out to be an adorable baby that Tsuna cannot imagine as that mature woman he knows she'll turn out to be (or perhaps not, given the concept of the butterfly effect). He and Reborn and the rest of them end up at the baby shower, and it's hilarious to see Lal and Verde actively cringing at the pastel decor and baby drool. Colonnello is a natural and _loves_ the baby, Fon has a slight frown on his face that speaks of his mild discomfort when holding her even if his arms are gentle, and Skull is all nervous energy and Tsuna has to chuckle and support his arms when it's his turn much to the relief of the stuntman.

One month later, the group gets a mission to the mountains and Tsuna knows that time has run out. (He does wonder why none of them seem to care that he's at these meetings even if he never really participates in the missions, but he's thankful for it because they don't refuse him when he asks to join this particular mission -it could also be because of the food, no one refuses when he offers food.)

This is the part Tsuna is winging. In fact, if he has to say anything, curing the Arcobaleno is the _most_ planned of anything that has occurred over the years. He actually went out of his way to find Talbot and contact the Vindice after all. The Ninth, his family, the Estraneo's current heir (who Tsuna now strongly suspects is Mukuro's uncle) and the other mafioso and assassins all just _happen_ to end up at his cafe.

Bermuda is still a suspicious wreak, however, and Tsuna had said he would take care of it, but the Vindice go ahead and set up the Flame Drain anyway which is incredibly dangerous because it leaves the others paralysed and a full drain can _kill_ you.

There's also Kawahira/Checkerface who is an anomaly and unpredictable, and apparently very angry at his interference if the sceptre now sticking out of his gut is anything to go by.

Struggling to sit up from Reborn's limp form, he sets a shaky hand on his partner's neck and just _breathes_ when he feels the faint stutter of a pulse, even as he feels Sun Flames draining with every flutter.

Dark flames whirr around him and the collapsed forms of the not yet, _please_ not yet, Arcobaleno. Even in as much excruciating pain as he is in, his flames come, steady and unhindered, and he clasps a flaming hand around the weapon, takes one unsteady breath, and just _pulls_.

He can't fail, won't, not in this. Having Reborn as his lover this time certainly cements his resolve, but even if he weren't, this particular group has given up far more than Tsuna has in his time and Tsuna refuses to let them endure that again if he can stop it.

(The same goes for anything else he encounters in this time, actually. But where human lives are fleeting, the Arcobaleno are constant and, no matter how much blood drenches him, Tsuna has always been too kind, too selfless to even consider another sacrifice to an outdated system if he can help it.

This resolve drives his guardians, the Varia, and the Arcobaleno of his original time up the wall, but it's so very much Tsuna at his essence that they can't do more than grumble, exert a bit of violence, and go with his flow.)

He ends up losing too much blood and his guts end up in places they really shouldn't be, and the current generation of the strongest seven end up drained of their flames but _whole and alive_ as he finally, after some sporadic placing of flames (he's too weak to manage an X-burner, even if he can do it without his contacts now) and application of Zero Point Breakthrough: First Edition to still Checkerface long enough to explain what he wants, what he _knows_ will work, and he's not sure if it's his conviction or sheer stubbornness that convinces the ancient being but the pacifiers are never placed around his friends' necks, no one is cursed, and the Vindice leave, smug and satisfied.

(After all, plenty of Flames have been donated by the group and Tsuna's only passing thought is how he's going to explain all this before he finally collapses.)

* * *

As far as Tsuna is concerned, the explanation is a resounding success.

He tells them about Kawahira's original plan, about Vindice being there to counter the plan, about how they should be getting an apology sometime soon, hopefully. (Tsuna is not sending any more food until Bermuda apologises.)

He reassures them that it won't happen again even if they've most likely lost their main source of income now. And look! Kawahira gave each of them an animal companion as recompense. (He even gets Natsu back, who isn't exactly a box weapon given the device doesn't actually exist yet, but is still very much Tsuna's companion.)

He tells them the truth or as much as he is willing to give of the truth.

He knew what would happen on this mission, and told not even Reborn of it.

He expects they'll be pissed at him, even if it aches to know that these people he's come to know, not from stories and anecdotes but from times spent together, may end up hating him.

But they're not so much as pissed, as resigned, really.

"You've been bribing the Vindice? You _know_ the Vindice?!" Skull wails dramatically, arms flailing. "It's bad enough you invite drug lords to your local bake sale, that the Secret Service play _secret Santa_ with you every Christmas, and that you go on picnics with the bloody Vongola boss and his family every so often. _What is wrong with you?!_ "

While he's ranting, the others are gradually becoming less tense and more thoughtful, and Reborn, who hasn't budged since the start of this from where he and Tsuna are squished into the single seat couch, just pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs in resignation.

" _How_ are you still a civilian again?" Lal asks, rhetorically, and while Tsuna would like to protest, there's not much he can say when Skull, the first to come to, clearly saw -and subsequently informed the others about- the frozen flames that spanned the cave, Tsuna and Kawahira helping power the pacifiers for the Vindice in a bright light show of colours and more Flame being thrown about than a Vongola Guardian could produce in three lifetimes.

Verde has been eyeing him since Tsuna admitted that, yes, he knows how to use Flames and yes, he is -by mafia standards- a rather proficient user of the esoteric art and what is wrong with that? Everyone in this room has ridiculous Flame potential, it's not like he's amazing in the face of that.

Except, Skull barely knows what Flames are despite still being able to manipulate the propagation of cells in his body, Colonnello and Lal are (former) military and the most encounters they've had are during their missions in the last four years on missions, Verde knows as much as he can of the ability but it's convoluted and tangled in myths and practical application is another thing altogether, and Fon has never, to his knowledge, summoned up Storm Flames -an attribute to the total control he has over every part of himself as a martial arts practitioner, and finally, Reborn hasn't ever healed another person with his Flames except for Tsuna before this incident. Viper is the only one who is proficient, and Luce's Flames are channelled more to her ability to read the future, than the physical manifestations that can be weaponised.

Flame knowledge is rare after all, none of the (not) Arcobaleno (and he really should think of something else to call them) are part of a group such as Vongola, so everything they _do_ know is self-taught.

This, of course, means that Tsuna is relegated to Flame tutor and sometimes he wants to laugh at the irony of his life.

Except, there's a desperation that makes their Flames blazing infernos, despite coming out of the entire incident un-cursed, and with no visible injuries.

Tsuna doesn't completely understand the motive, but Dying Will is a tricky thing, and he's more than willing to work hard for their sakes.

(Sometimes, Tsuna forgets that he's in the presence of the _I Prescelti Sette_ , for all that they were future Family and now actual _family_ , he may not say anything about the curse beyond the presence of it, but the tinge of frustration/despair/over-my-dead-body that lights his eyes with inner Flame is enough for even the most oblivious of the (not) Arcobaleno to burn with the resolve of never letting such a thing occur again.)

* * *

In the end, they don't split up even though they never get another mission from that masked man ever again.

...

Verde cites that it's far easier to focus on his projects with others there to upkeep other less important things, like eating. He gets whacked over the head by Luce's new companion, Cosmos, and Tsuna forces him to eat takeout until the scientist apologises. (He lasts two days and comes to the same conclusion Reborn has; Tsuna spoils all of them ridiculously and now all other food pales in comparison.)

...

Viper is smart enough not to say anything about the necessity of food, and the returns they get from investing in ingredients have a degree of warmth in them they can't seem to find from their other investments. (Viper's frugal side says the property market in Scandinavia is the _best_ investment. Their taste-buds say otherwise.)

...

Skull toes the line between criminal and civilian more than even Tsuna does, as involved as he is in the missions. It isn't exactly what the stuntman was expecting that day he walked into the room with six other individuals. By now, four years down the line, they've accomplished more together than Skull has by himself, and they're certainly closer for all the teasing and ribbing that goes on. So, he really shouldn't have been surprised that only acceptance, a promise of his favourite dessert, and a curious if unexpectedly contrite Verde greets him when he reveals his undying status -a product of an experiment that had assumedly gone wrong, that left his broken tattered body in an incinerator along with the rest of the 'experiments' until death kissed his arse goodbye and his Flame inadvertently sparks, propagating his regeneration far faster than he can grasp and leaves that particular research facility in shambles when he comes back to consciousness.

(A contrite Verde is both awkward and hilarious. Luce's hug is warm like a lazy summer's day. And Tsuna surprises him, not with his favourite rum and raisin panna cotta, but with his quiet guarantee that he believes Skull would never harm a hair on their heads and he's much less scarier than the others no matter what he looks like despite the fact that Skull has made no mention of the monster that lives in him, that he fears one day he'll black out and wake with nothing but the remains of those around him, those he's come to care for.

It's times like these, where Tsuna says something that hits the nail on the head far more precise than even Colonnello can a target with his sniper rifle, that Skull gets _how_ Reborn and Tsuna match up so well. Reborn reads expressions like an open book and can match Viper in interrogation without need for flame or illusion. Tsuna reads thoughts in the same manner he gazes off to space, and suddenly spouts information like, _'Fon's upset because you ate his mandarin_ ' even if the man has shown no inclination of the sort.)

...

Fon is- _was_ the most distant of the not-Arcobaleno. His calm demeanour in the face of even the most absurd situations lends him a sort of distance the others are unable to maintain. It is reasonable given he's seen how the triads work, been betrayed by comrades before, and estranged by his only immediate family. Fighting with Viper over their ideals, feeling childishly upset because Colonnello went and stole the last of the tanghulu Tsunayoshi made in attempts at other ethnic desserts (it was Fon's turn this time) and learning how to hold Aria properly and being _trusted_ with the babe despite the blood that dyes his fingers and seeps into his dreams, warms a part of him he hadn't even known existed. The option that they split after the ordeal hadn't even crossed his mind until Tsuna brings up the topic of staying together and he's glad that none of the others say anything against it.

...

Colonnello, for all that he's best at sharpshooting -a job that usually requires no more than one person- has always worked better in a team. COMSUBIN is military and for all of its faults military organisations has always been the first to encourage teamwork and listening to your superior above all else. Colonnello's never failed to obey Lal except for the last order she ever made before she retired and disappeared to the winds.

 _'You've always been a hard worker, so don't let the team down, you flirtatious fool.'_

Yes, he's blond and loud and likes girls, but Lal is different and it's not till she's gone that he's shocked to realise how off he feels without her around, that he may have been more than a little infatuated. Finding her after four months of fruitless searching, neck deep in the Italian mafia affairs is like breathing air after staying stuck in a stale room for far too long and he barely registers the others with her in his excitement. Barging into her affairs, butting heads with Reborn, and refusing to leave is something his obnoxious self is completely ready to adhere to.

Lal is the one that makes his heart flutter like a child on a sugar high, but it's everyone else -from Skull's loud self to Viper's hovering money-grubbing ways to Luce's mothering- that makes his orphaned self ruminate if this is what an actual family feels like.

He likes the feeling, so he goes out of his way to re-hash the contract he has with Mafia Land's manager -a job he took on in hopes to convince Lal that he's perfectly capable of holding and doing a job that will support them- to only be there for the holiday season when its busiest so he's free for the rest of the year to spend with their budding family.

...

Lal, for all her serious nature and blunt attitude that leads her to be the least deceptive of them, does have one secret she has never shared among the group. The reason she joined and then left military service for a dubious group she initially did not know a thing about aside from possible ties to the not exactly above board interests was really to escape. Yes, she was a renowned COMSUBIN commander, but she was also an undercover intelligence officer of _Servizio Informazioni Difesa,_ at least until the organisation fell apart. Leaving the military was a choice borne of necessity when the reorganisation of Italy's intelligence services meant the discovery of her involvement in the prior organisation and possible arrest. The fact that she was so reluctant to leave, having enjoyed her post for more than she expected -especially with the presence of the shameless blond, meant that she should leave _immediately_.

The long term job with others came at the right time, and while Lal has never made obvious her background as a _spy_ , no one ever argues when she says _that's not how you infiltrate a company of this calibre Reborn, gods just- let me do it_. And while her initial plan was to work until she had enough money and time to wipe out her previous records, and possibly join an organisation where she could train young recruits, Tsunayoshi's sweet smiles and divine cannoli, Fon's accompanying presence in the face of the arguing Reborn and Colonnello, or Reborn and Verde, or Skull and Colonello, or some unholy combination of just everyone that leaves her feeling like the only adult in a room full of toddlers, somehow convinces her otherwise.

(She never admits it, but Collonnello's persistence even if the idiot was an absolute fool to follow them to a mission that would have ended with all of them cursed, just to save her, does make her inordinately fond of the blond. Even Skull's unconscious stumble with her name that turns into _sister_ while she's running after him in the name of vengeance over the missing Mizzapica cannoli makes her unconsciously smile and she doesn't even correct Tsunayoshi when the brunet does the same.)

...

Luce's ability grants her the knowledge better men would have gone insane over. She knew about the Arcobaleno when she was ten, she knew her own time and method of death even before she knew her name, she's the one who has to make a choice between warning one of her subordinates of their death or doing nothing so that the three others will live on. Her smiles are warm, but they hide the calculating mind underneath that balances one death against others, one future against another. Sometimes, she's very grateful for the ability, like when her family saves an orphaned babe and names him Gamma, sometimes, she wishes very much the thing never existed in the first place.

So when, one day, seven years ago, her visions of her own death, of the fate of the future Arcobaleno, of the fate of the Mafia started blurring like a particularly bad radio signal, when the first of her predictions started going off, she knew there was either something seriously wrong, or something very very right. Meeting Tsunayoshi, an anomaly, a man who doesn't belong in this time, but somehow _does_ , of a Will that's latched on, conformed, and will never let go, is the most refreshing thing that has happened to a clairvoyant of Luce's calibre.

Luce, as the Boss of Giglio Nero, has more commitments than the others do, and while their group's never been restrictive when it comes to missions and the like, it's hard to be at all of them. For that she's grateful to Tsunayoshi who mediates the conflicting personalities far better than she is able to, whose Sky flames burn so brightly, they still make his eyes glow even as he tries his best to mask them. So when _he's_ the one to propose staying together, she's ready to let go, to let the others bond with a Sky who clearly puts their well-being over his own, but then he grabs her arm and resolutely says,

"Luce agrees with me, she's even prepared a place for us!"

And she's shocked, in a pleased fluttery sort of way when his eyes, blazing with Will meets hers and _dares_ her to leave them. All but hissing that he'll come after her because this is her family as much as it is everyone else's, and then his cheeks are flushing in embarrassment and he's all, _unless you don't actually want to I mean-_ and she can't help the breathless laugh that escapes and presses a kiss against his cheek. Then her grin turns sly and she's already turned to the others and clapped her hands together eagerly as she announces,

"Well then, first thing first, we're going to do some major renovation and move Tsuna's minuscule café to _our_ new place!"

Tsuna splutters incoherently as everyone unanimously agrees.

Then he's snorting and laughing as Reborn pulls him into a hug, Colonnello dog-piles him, and Skull's mercilessly tickling the parts of him he can reach through the tangle of limbs.

* * *

 **E/N:** It was supposed to be one paragraph per person but they just kept longer and longer and would _not stop_ /head-desk.

Btw, Lal's background was made up with some reference to Wiki and the Italian Secret Services (they had a few over the years, and SID just happened to match around the time of this setting so, yay.)

The mention of Tsuna's stint at the Varia is a reference to _Say Boys Don't You See Them Bones_ by Adel Mortescryche which is a wonderful one-shot, totally recommend.

This fic is supposed to be short, so it doesn't end up unfinished. That being said, here's a list of other shit that's supposed to happen (but I don't have time to write an epic so):

1\. Tsuna freaks a little when he meets his teenage dad through Nono. What he completely flips over is when Iemitsu starts seeing him as a role model after Tsuna saves his ungrateful ass along with Enrico and shows off his Flame prowess (Iemitsu was a brat as a kid, enough said)

2\. At least he doesn't freak out as much when Iemitsu comes barging into his and Reborn's bedroom at hell o'clock in the morning blubbering and in need of immediate attention because he's gone and fallen head over heels for an angel

3\. Tsuna and Reborn become baby Yoshi's (Ieyoshi's) godparents. (Who is, of course, Tsuna's younger self.)

4\. Meanwhile, Tsuna's somehow ends up with kid!Xanxus in his care.

5\. Reborn snags Xanxus' -a.k.a. feisty midget's- loud stalker somewhere along the way and Squalo and Xanxus become best friends after a lot of things are destroyed and Tsuna doesn't give either of them dessert for a week.

6\. Cafe Meriggiare, which doubles as the Strongest group's base eventually keeps collecting random kids including the rest of the 'Varia', who are looking to be less an independent assassination offshoot from Vongola but rather a part of their family. Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, and also someone who Tsuna suspects is Hibari's mother, or somehow related because those genes are ridiculous, are also picked up along the way, which is good because the teens can hold the fort while everyone is on missions.

7\. Turns out Mukuro's uncle is the head of the Estraneo (and Tsuna tried not to think about how mad he turned out in his original timeline), Tsuna also becomes his former mist guardian's godfather. Has he mentioned his life makes no sense?

8\. Somewhere along the way Tsuna reveals to Reborn that his first years of life were spent in a different time, in different circumstances, Reborn doesn't care so much as just being glad Tsuna told him, it's not like he's revealed every sordid detail of his childhood and younger days as a hitman where he couldn't exactly choose his own targets.

9\. Sawada Yoshi lives a chaotic life with many visiting uncles and aunts (Tsuna and Reborn's defining influence to Iemitsu is to never lie to your partner, as such Nana is aware of the goings on of everything), he makes friends of his own accord and when his favourite god-father (if only because Tsuna-ji never shot rubber bullets and also made the best cakes ever) sees Takeshi, Ryohei, Kyoya, Chrome, and Hayato, groans and buries his face in his hands, Yoshi is completely confused. The next week his godfathers appear again with a friendly Mukuro and excitable Lambo in tow, and Yoshi completely forgets about it in the ensuing chaos.

10\. Reborn and Tsuna, and the rest of the now legendary group, eventually retire (some missing a few limbs perhaps) but no-one missing a life, and leave the cafe and clients to the kids they've picked up under Yoshi's attentive influence (and cooking, learned from the master of food-porn himself (Tsuna may be over 50 but he's not above setting Natsu on his long-time partner, Reborn finds this hilarious even with a massive Sky lion bearing down on him)).

 _Un-beta'd as usual. please feel free to correct even the smallest mistakes._


End file.
